Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Foreign Secretary James Cleverly says beating of protester at Chinese consulate 'unacceptable'

“They were on British soil and it is absolutely unacceptable for this kind of behaviour,” said Cleverly, adding the protests had been peaceful and legal.

Foreign Secretary James Cleverly says beating of protester at Chinese consulate 'unacceptable'

British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said on Wednesday the treatment of a protester seen being pulled into the grounds of a Chinese consulate and beaten was "unacceptable", and the government was considering further action.

The altercation occurred on Sunday during a demonstration against Chinese President Xi Jinping in Manchester, northern England. It led to Britain summoning China's Charge d'Affaires in London on Tuesday to explain what had happened.


"They were on British soil and it is absolutely unacceptable for this kind of behaviour," said Cleverly, adding the protests had been peaceful and legal.

China has responded by saying it had lodged representations with Britain "about the malicious harassment incident".

"I want to stress that due to the malicious harassment of lawless elements who illegally entered the Chinese consulate in Manchester, this resulted in injuries to the Chinese personnel and threat to the security of the Chinese premises," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin told reporters.

"The peace and dignity of Chinese embassies and consulates abroad cannot be violated, we hope that the British side will effectively fulfil its responsibilities and take effective measures to strengthen the protection of premises and personnel of Chinese embassies and consulates in the UK."

The incident is the latest diplomatic spat between London and Beijing whose relationship has soured in the last few years.

The protest, involving about 30 to 40 people including Hong Kong citizens now resident in Britain, took place at the start of a twice-a-decade congress of China's ruling Communist Party in Beijing at which Xi is widely expected to win a third leadership term.

KICKED AND PUNCHED

Greater Manchester Police said they were investigating what had occurred at Sunday's protest, with footage showing a man in a black cap and ponytail being hauled through a gate into the consular grounds, where he was kicked and punched by five men as he lay on the ground.

"A small group of men came out of the building and a man was dragged into the Consulate grounds and assaulted," a police statement said. It said a man aged in his 30s had suffered injuries and needed hospital treatment.

"My understanding is the Greater Manchester Police will be conducting an investigation into this and when I see the details of that investigation, I'll then decide what more we might need to do on that," Cleverly said.

Relations between Britain and China have been increasingly tense since Beijing brought in a national security law in Hong Kong, a former British colony which returned to Chinese rule in 1997 with the promise that its freedoms would be protected.

Britain has been highly critical of the law which it says has been used to suppress dissent, while Beijing has accused London of interfering and creating trouble.

The issue has been exacerbated by a programme which allows almost three million people in Hong Kong to apply for a British visa, and a decision by China to impose sanctions on some British lawmakers in the ruling Conservative Party for spreading "lies" about alleged human rights abuses in the far-western Chinese region of Xinjiang.

(Reuters)

More For You

Trump

Trump said the suspect had been arrested earlier for 'terrible crimes,' including child sex abuse, grand theft auto and false imprisonment, but was released under the Biden administration because Cuba refused to take him back.

Getty Images

Trump says accused in Dallas motel beheading will face first-degree murder charge

US PRESIDENT Donald Trump has described Chandra Mouli “Bob” Nagamallaiah, the Indian-origin motel manager killed in Dallas, as a “well-respected person” and said the accused will face a first-degree murder charge.

Nagamallaiah, 50, was killed last week at the Downtown Suites motel by co-worker Yordanis Cobos-Martinez, a 37-year-old undocumented Cuban immigrant with a criminal history.

Keep ReadingShow less
Starmer Mandelson

Starmer talks with Mandelson during a welcome reception at the ambassador's residence on February 26, 2025 in Washington, DC.

Getty

Starmer under pressure from party MPs after Mandelson dismissal

PRIME MINISTER Keir Starmer is facing questions within the Labour party after the sacking of US ambassador Peter Mandelson.

Mandelson was removed last week after Bloomberg published emails showing messages of support he sent following Jeffrey Epstein’s conviction for sex offences. The dismissal comes just ahead of US president Donald Trump’s state visit.

Keep ReadingShow less
Nepal’s new leader pledges to act on Gen Z calls to end corruption

Officials greet newly-elected Prime Minister of Nepal's interim government Sushila Karki (R) as she arrives at the prime minister's office in Kathmandu on September 14, 2025. (Photo by PRABIN RANABHAT/AFP via Getty Images)

Nepal’s new leader pledges to act on Gen Z calls to end corruption

NEPAL’s new interim prime minister Sushila Karki on Sunday (14) pledged to act on protesters’ calls to end corruption and restore trust in government, as the country struggles with the aftermath of its worst political unrest in decades.

“We have to work according to the thinking of the Gen Z generation,” Karki said in her first address to the nation since taking office on Friday (12). “What this group is demanding is the end of corruption, good governance and economic equality. We will not stay here more than six months in any situation. We will complete our responsibilities and hand over to the next parliament and ministers.”

Keep ReadingShow less
UK secures £1.25bn US investment ahead of Trump’s visit

US president Donald Trump and UK prime minister Sir Keir Starmer arrive at Trump International Golf Links on July 28, 2025 in Balmedie, Scotland. (Photo by Jane Barlow-WPA Pool/Getty Images)

UK secures £1.25bn US investment ahead of Trump’s visit

THE British government has announced over £1.25 billion ($1.69bn) in fresh investment from major US financial firms, including PayPal, Bank of America, Citigroup and S&P Global, ahead of a state visit by president Donald Trump.

The investment is expected to create 1,800 jobs across London, Edinburgh, Belfast and Manchester, and deepen transatlantic financial ties, the Department for Business and Trade said.

Keep ReadingShow less
Nearly 150,000 join anti-migrant protest in London as clashes erupt

Protesters wave Union Jack and St George's England flags during the "Unite The Kingdom" rally on Westminster Bridge by the Houses of Parliament on September 13, 2025 in London, England. (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)

Nearly 150,000 join anti-migrant protest in London as clashes erupt

MORE THAN 100,000 protesters marched through central London on Saturday (13), carrying flags of England and Britain and scuffling with police in one of the UK's biggest right-wing demonstrations of modern times.

London's Metropolitan Police said the "Unite the Kingdom" march, organised by anti-immigrant activist Tommy Robinson, was attended by nearly 150,000 people, who were kept apart from a "Stand Up to Racism" counter-protest attended by around 5,000.

Keep ReadingShow less